


Familiar

by RandyPandy



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awakening happened but with Xander Leo and Niles there, Chrom!Cynthia, Couple of mentions of torture but no one is actually tortured, Crack Treated Seriously, F/M, Family, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Leo!Owain, Niles!Severa, Post-Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation, Sumia!Lucina, The Future Past DLC, Xander!Inigo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:28:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24141331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandyPandy/pseuds/RandyPandy
Summary: “A-Are you not married yet?” ‘Laslow’ asked, suddenly looking nervous. “You used my middle name, so I thought that at least…”“I am, to Olivia— Wait. You wouldn’t happen to be from Lucina’s future, would you?” Xander asked, the pieces starting to click together.‘Laslow’ gave that brilliant smile at him. “That I am! Inigo Laslow de Nohr, son of Xander de Nohr and Olivia of Regna Ferox!”Of all the things that Xander had expected falling into a completely time and place, he hadn’t expected to find his son. Moreover, he hadn’t expected his son to be someone that he already knew.
Relationships: Azur | Inigo & Marx | Xander, Lazward | Laslow & Marx | Xander, Leon | Leo/Liz | Lissa, Marx | Xander/Olivia, Though the last two are more background ships, Zero | Niles/Tiamo | Cordelia
Comments: 7
Kudos: 66





	1. Familiar

**Author's Note:**

> A few things about this verse:  
> -Awakening’s plot was identical to normal Awakening aside of the inclusion of Xander, Leo, and Niles, which is why I didn’t write out a novelization.  
> -Xander, Leo, and Niles end up in Ylisse post-Revelation, but pre-Awakening, and end up joining the Shepherds as they try to figure out a way to get back.  
> -Chrom married Sumia, Xander married Olivia, Leo married Lissa, and Niles married Cordelia.
> 
> I got a comment on [Bloodline](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20982221) recently, and it brought me back to the whole “What if Xander is Inigo/Laslow’s father?” possibility. This time, though, it’s a completely different take on it, so this is not related to Bloodline.

The Shepherds had split up into two groups to deal with the bandits. Xander was still reluctant to leave Leo, but he knew that Leo would be fine. Not only was Niles with him (and he knew that Niles would _never_ let anything happen to him _)_ , but Leo’s wife, Lissa, and Chrom’s daughter, Lucina were also with him.

The area they were in was quite mountainous, and he could already tell that several of the Shepherds were having trouble getting up there. If Xander hadn’t been trained to endure perilous journeys in both the trial with the Rainbow Sage and the war, then he wasn’t sure if he would’ve lasted, either.

“Why do mountains… have to… be so steep?” Robin panted, and Xander felt a wave of pity for the Ylissean tactician.

“Here,” Olivia offered. “Have some water.”

Robin took the offered waterskin and gulped it down. “Thank you, Olivia,” he said. “You’re a lifesaver.”

Xander smiled at his wife as she blushed and hid her face against his neck. “Oh, hardly. I just flail around and pretend to dance, mostly. Anyways, I’ve started looking for new ways to be useful.”

Oh, had she ever. After watching everyone else, she had demanded better training with a sword, and he had been taking it upon himself to teach her whenever he got a spare moment, as had several of the other Shepherds. She was a natural, and Xander was very impressed with how quickly she was learning.

As for her dancing… Xander had been enraptured with her dancing from the first time that he had seen her, and though it hadn’t been love at first sight, it had been a starting point into their relationship. It was a flowy, freestyle form of dancing, and though he never danced in that manner, he’d seen Laslow dance that way multiple times.

Come to think of it, Laslow was just as bashful as her. Odd.

“Your dancing is spectacular!” Robin argued. “It never fails to pick me up.”

Olivia giggled, though she was still blushing. “I dance like a ham someone rolled down the stairs. Just _thinking_ of people watching me makes me cringe…”

He blinked. Hadn’t Laslow used that _exact same description_ of his dancing before? No, he had to be imagining it.

Still, Xander smiled at her. “Dear, you’re one of the best dancers I’ve ever met – and trust me when I say I’ve met numerous excellent ones.” Laslow himself, Azura, that songstress in Cyrkensia his father had liked, and he’d even seen Queen Arete dance a few times before she had passed

(Though to be fair, Laslow could give Olivia a run for her money, but he wisely didn’t say that out loud. She had little regard for her talent as it was, and he wasn’t going to make her lose even more of her confidence.)

“We’re near the bandit’s camp, everyone,” Chrom announced, gesturing over to the fortified walls. Xander blinked. Why on _earth_ were the walls a maze-like structure? “They’ve ravaged the surrounding towns with impunity for too long. It ends today. Their hold is just ahead. It should be… wait, what’s that? Gods, that man is fighting them alone. Come, let’s lend him a hand!”

As Xander squinted, he saw a slim figure holding a sword as the bandits ran towards him, and his eyes widened; the hair color was different, a shade of rose-gold, but he would recognize the style of that fluffy mop and that unique sword stance _anywhere_.

He’d only ever met one person that had had it.

_“Laslow!”_

The rest of the Shepherds engaged the bandits, with Xander carving a path towards the young man that he had seen. As he got closer, he noted that his clothes were different, he was skinnier, and again, his hair was very much a different color. But that stylistic method of fighting, as if he was dancing… it _had_ to be him.

Once he had reached the younger man, he cut down the bandit that the other had been fighting and gripped him by the wrist. “Laslow, thank the gods that you’re…” He trailed off.

“Ah!” Laslow jerked in surprise and stared up at him, his eyes wide. His eyes were the same blue color, Xander noticed, but he was quickly noticing that there were things that were _off_. His skin was smoother, he was much thinner, and there was an awkward teenage gangliness about him whereas his retainer had been an _adult_.

“Father?” ‘Laslow’ blurted out. “Is that you?”

Wait.

 _What_.

Xander stared at him again as the teenager brightened and he threw his arms around him. “Oh, Father, thank Naga! When I landed in this time period, I wasn’t sure if I would ever get the chance to see you and Mother again!”

“Your… mother?” he asked, faintly, too stunned to pull ‘Laslow’ off of him.

“A-Are you not married yet?” ‘Laslow’ asked, suddenly looking nervous. “You used my middle name, so I thought that at least…”

“I am, to Olivia— Wait. You wouldn’t happen to be from Lucina’s future, would you?” Xander asked, the pieces starting to click together.

‘Laslow’ gave that brilliant smile at him. “That I am! Inigo Laslow de Nohr, son of Xander de Nohr and Olivia of Regna Ferox!” He fumbled with his pack. “If you need proof, then I have yours and mother’s rings right here!” He fished out a pair of rings, and Xander examined them.

One was indeed the ring that he had given Olivia when he’d proposed. The other was his signet ring, the one with Nohr’s crest, that was currently on his finger.

“You’re telling the truth, then,” Xander murmured, tilting his chin up to get a good look at the boy. This was _definitely_ Laslow, he recognized a couple of the scars that the other had on his cheek as the same ones that Laslow had, though Inigo’s was fresher. The boy’s claim, though, that he was his son…

He had a son!

…

Gods above, _Laslow_ was his son.

Xander felt a headache coming on.

This explained _far too much_.

* * *

After the bandits had been routed, with the village nearby giving them several provisions as thanks for taking care of the problem, Xander had been forced to drag Inigo away (after taking care to grab the boy’s things from the inn he had been staying at) as the other protested about meeting a village girl and going on a date. Eventually, Inigo had pouted and had gone along with him.

He never changed.

Later, Xander held onto his wrist tightly the entire time, his heart pounding, as Inigo explained his part of the story to him, that he’d been one Lucina’s twelve companions to come back in time after Grima had destroyed the world. He had been through so much…

“And… I suppose if you want further proof that I’m yours…” Inigo gestured to the sheath of the second sword that he had by his side – the one that he had _not_ used in battle against the bandits. Xander recognized it immediately.

“Siegfried,” Xander murmured, comparing it with his own; the sheath of the Divine Weapon was battered and frayed, as if it had been through a lot, compared to his own. “Are you able to use it?”

Inigo hesitated. “Yes, but I have trouble controlling it, so I haven’t tried. I didn’t want to accidentally hurt or kill one of my friends by mistake.”

Xander frowned; he’d have to rectify that sometime soon. The fact that Inigo was able to use it at all was quite impressive. “So, your full name is Inigo Laslow de Nohr?” he asked him, switching the topic away from his family’s weapon.

Inigo smiled up at him. “That’s right! Mother picked Inigo as it’s a Feroxi name she liked, and you picked Laslow after one of your best friends, and since Mother didn’t have a last name, I have yours, Father!”

“I see.” He… he had named him after _himself_. Sometimes Xander understood why Leo had the urge to bash his head against his desk. Time travel… was extremely complicated.

The boy turned away, bashful again. “I-I mean… is it alright to call you Father? I know that you’re not my father _yet_ …”

He sounded hopeful, but at the same time, resigned, and Xander’s grip on him tightened. “Of _course_ you may call me Father, Inigo,” he told him. He was _not_ going to be like Garon in his later years as a parent, and the first step would be to wholeheartedly embrace any children that he had.

Even if they were surprise children, and no matter how much they already drove him up the wall. Having practically raised Leo and Elise, he’d had a soft spot for children.

He wrapped his arm around the young man, and Inigo leaned into his side, almost desperately. “…I never thought I’d see you again,” Inigo said, his voice soft. “When you and Mother died in the future, I…”

Xander squeezed him. “We’re here now,” he told him. “And I don’t intend to have you leave my side.”

Inigo was tiny. Laslow had always been smaller than most Nohrian men, but Inigo was even _smaller_. How old was he even? He looked no older than Elise, who was still quite young herself. Definitely younger than Lucina, from the looks of things.

As he walked back towards the camp with his future-son-slash-retainer, Xander thought about a few things, but he mainly had one question on his mind.

How in the name of the Dusk Dragon had his son ended up in Nohr _in the past_?

* * *

There were very few times where Xander felt true fear.

Most of the earlier times had been when he had learned that one of his siblings had been killed by one of the mothers. More recently, it had been when the war now known as the Great War of Fates had been going on, and he’d had to fight against his father and a mad dragon. And most recently, it was during the entire ordeal with Grima, who had thankfully been defeated.

He’d never thought he’d have to deal with a second dragon in his lifetime, but he had managed to bring peace to another land. That was perfectly fine with him.

But he had never felt fear spike _this_ much until when Lucina had told everyone the news.

“Inigo, Owain, and Severa have gone missing.”

That instantly sent everyone in an uproar. Olivia hadn’t stopped panicking all morning, while Lissa ran to and fro desperately asking everyone if they had seen them, and Cordelia while had taken to the skies for several hours before coming back, her search fruitless.

“Does _anyone_ know where they headed?” Xander had finally asked his niece (technically; she was the daughter of Leo’s wife’s brother, which made her his niece too, right?) once he was able to speak again.

Lucina shook her head miserably. “One of the guards mentioned that Cynthia said that she saw them talking with someone that she didn’t recognize, but I didn’t get a chance to ask her who. I asked the others to find her.”

Xander patted his niece on the shoulder. “We’ll find them.”

“Luci! Uncle Leo, Uncle Xander, Niles!” Cynthia ran in, skidding to a halt and nearly tripping over her own feet. Miraculously, despite being as clumsy as her mother and constantly faceplanting on the ground, she managed to stay on her feet this time. “I’m so sorry! If I’d known that they would just disappear I would’ve mentioned something sooner!”

“It’s fine, Cynthia, you couldn’t have known,” Leo told his younger niece gently. “What can you tell us about the person that they went with?”

“I didn’t get a very good look at him,” she said unhappily, blue pigtails bouncing. “But he had light blue hair, and gold eyes, and he kept his hood up. I think he was a manakete?”

A manakete, so a dragon? But there were supposed to be almost none left other than Tiki, Nowi, and Nowi’s half-manakete daughter, Nah. None of them were sure if Robin technically counted, and they weren’t sure if they wanted to know if he did.

“Did he say a name, a location, or _anything_?” Niles asked. “Some starting point?”

“They were talking quietly, but I managed to catch his name,” Cynthia said, frowning. “I think he said his name was Anankos.”

Xander’s blood ran cold, and one glance at his brother and his retainer showed that they were unsettled as well; Leo had nearly dropped Brynhildr in shock, and Niles’s single eye had widened as he bit back a swear.

Chrom frowned. “I… I don’t recognize that name, but—”

“We do,” Xander cut him off.

Everyone turned to the three of them. “Who is Anankos?” Lissa asked, quieter than her normal chipper self.

“Anankos was… back where we came from, Anankos was a dragon god, capable of traveling through space and time,” Xander started. “I don’t know the finer details of what he was like, though I’ve been told he used to be an extremely benevolent god, but he eventually went mad.”

“Degeneration, most likely,” Lucina said with a sigh. “Of course. It happens to all dragons that live too long.”

“He destroyed the land that he ruled over, Valla, and then came after Hoshido and Nohr,” Leo supplied; by this point, everyone in this time had all accepted that Xander, Leo, and Niles were from Hoshido and Nohr, and had timetraveled by accident somehow. “But we were able to slay him due to the help of several Divine Weapons, and with both countries coming together. We’d actually just done it before we were thrown to Archanea.”

“But if he was slayed,” Chrom asked. “Then how did he come here and kidnap your children?”

Xander opened his mouth as if going to agree with Chrom, and—

It hit him.

“Because,” Xander said, his voice faint, and Olivia gripped at his arm, looking at him in confusion. “Because he can travel through space and time, and from his point of view, he came at a time where we hadn’t defeated him yet. The three of us are fairly well-known where we come from, so he must have targeted them specifically.”

“So they are in trouble…” Olivia said, looking worried. “We have to help them!”

“No, Livi,” Xander said, shaking his head. “…They’ll be fine. I know, because they were fine when we left Nohr.”

There was a pause.

“Wait. _What_?!” Lissa yelped, and Olivia looked like she was going to faint dead away. Cordelia’s mouth was open in shock as well.

“I suppose we should tell everyone the story, then,” Leo said, looking over at everyone else. Lissa had her eyes narrowed.

“Yeah, you’d better explain what your brother means, buster,” she muttered.

“From our point of view,” Xander began, nodding at his brother, “what we are about to say happened over seven years ago. At the time, mine and Leo’s father was still alive, and we were… fairly upper-class. Niles worked for Leo as his personal retainer.”

“I knew it,” Lissa muttered. “You both _spoke_ that way; I knew that at least the two of you were nobility.”

“At the time, myself, Leo, and our sister Camilla only had one retainer.” Gods, Camilla. He hoped that she and everyone else back in Nohr were doing alright. When they got back, would any time have passed? Would Camilla have taken over the throne? “Our father wanted us to have two retainers each, so he put applications out.”

Chrom had furrowed his brow, as if trying to understand where this was going.

“We received several applications,” Xander said, heavily editing the circumstances of the retainer positions – he didn’t want to go into being Nohrian royalty or the tournament. “But there were three that stuck out to us when it came to skill. The one that applied for me was a young man named Laslow.”

Olivia _blinked_. “The one that became your friend…?”

“A young man with incredible skill with a sword, that danced in his spare time, that loved going out to town for tea and flirting with girls… sound familiar?” He gestured to his brother, who then spoke.

“And the one that applied for me? Some crazy blond incredible with magic and seemed eager to show off to me.” A smirk crossed Leo’s face. “He called himself ‘Odin Dark’, liked to pose, talk verbosely, and give weapons names. Doesn’t that remind you of someone, Lissa?”

“And the one that applied for Lady Camilla,” Niles said, smirking. “A young girl calling herself Selena that liked to wear her hair in twin tails, was practically unmatched with a sword, and had a bit of an attitude problem that didn’t interfere with her work. All three of them seemed to not only be great friends, but refused to mention where they came from.”

Everyone was still silent, and Xander’s expression fell. “They must have known when they came to find us. Laslow was always a bit cheeky with me and even threatening him with punishment didn’t seem to scare him.”

“And no matter how many crazy, impossible tasks I sent Odin on, he never quit, and only seemed eager to do his best. As if he was _trying_ to prove that he was an excellent mage,” Leo said, his voice softly. “I half-suspect he didn’t know what he would have done if we’d turned him out.”

“…I hit on Selena once,” Niles admitted.

“Niles!” Cordelia seemed scandalized and looked at her husband with an expression of utter horror and disgust.

“ _Once_!” Niles protested. “She gave me that exact same look you just did, and for me? It just felt utterly _wrong_ , so I never did it again. I propositioned people _a lot_ and let me tell you, I’d never felt so gross without getting why!”

“He’s telling the truth,” Leo said, looking at his retainer with fond exasperation. “…Niles, you hit on everyone— _you hit on my son and nephew as well.”_

“I didn’t know!” Niles took a step back from Leo.

“ _Anyways_ ,” Chrom said, starting to sound a little impatient. “You said that they were fine? Where were they when you left?”

“Back at our home, still working for us,” Xander admitted. “Some time ago, they had cryptically said something about ‘their job’, and seemed to know of Valla and Anankos by name when we defeated him, so it seems to match up. Gods, it must have been so hard for them, being around us, but unable to treat us like their fathers…”

But he had to get back. He had to tell his son that he knew the truth, that the three of them no longer needed to hide their true identities.

He looked at Lucina. “You said that Naga was capable of opening rifts in space-time. It’s how you got here.”

“I… yes,” Lucina said.

“Then we need to speak with her somehow,” he replied. “I need to find a way to get back to Nohr temporarily. Perhaps Tiki could help us.”

Naga had sent their children through time portals in a haphazard and hurried manner as Grima had been about to catch up with them. But hopefully, this time, she would be able to pinpoint exactly where they needed to go.

* * *

Gods, it felt like he hadn’t been in Nohr in _years_ (though to be fair, he _had_ spent almost two years wandering Archanea and Valm with the Shepherds). It was… much darker than he’d remembered, but a small part of him was relieved that he had finally made it back to his homeland.

Only he, Leo, and Niles had traveled to Nohr, wanting to explain things to Camilla and the others before bringing anyone else over so that they did not end up in trouble. As it was, they had worn cloaks as they had traaveled through the city to ensure that they weren’t recognized, and it was only once they had reached within the sight of the palace that he relaxed and pulled the hood of his cloak off.

“Y-Your majesty!” the guard on duty nearly fell to his feet, prostrating where he was. “You have returned!”

“I have,” Xander told the guard. “Can you have my retainers fetched for me?”

For some reason, this made the guard extremely nervous, but he nodded and darted off into the palace. He heard feet running towards him after a few minutes and barely got a chance to see a head of cotton-candy hair before Peri tackled him.

“Lord Xandeeeeer!” Xander grunted and patted her on the shoulder as she clung to him and sobbed. “Waaah! Peri is so glad to see you again, Lord Xander! She missed yooooou!”

“I’m glad to see you too, Peri,” he said, warmly hugging her. He glanced behind her, checking if Laslow as coming since he _had_ asked for his _retainers_ , but he saw no sign of the young man. And the guards looked nervous... he felt a strange pit in his stomach. “Where’s Laslow? He should have been here, I asked them to fetch both of you.”

“Um, you see Lady Camilla searched everyone’s quarters earlier today, and, uh… she found your signet ring in Laslow’s things,” Peri said, looking anxious. “Since you were missing, she said that she didn’t want to believe he’d done anything but dragged him off for ‘questioning’. Peri insisted that Laslow couldn’t have done anything, because even though Peri likes blood, she likes Laslow even more, but Lady Camilla didn’t believe me! Maybe she’ll believe you!”

Xander actually _swore_ , and, leaving Leo and Niles standing there, ran inside the castle, past the guards, towards the part of the dungeon where he knew that Camilla liked to keep her torture chambers. She’d rarely used them, despite always threatening people, but there were a few things that his sister took very seriously.

If she thought that Laslow had hurt Xander, then… well, he wouldn’t be surprised if Laslow ended up down there. He could only hope that he wasn’t too late.

“Milady, I swear, I haven’t done anything to him!” Laslow’s voice, higher-pitched than normal, resounded through the dungeons. Thank the gods, he was still alive at least, and Xander followed his voice.

“Then please explain why you have his ring,” Camilla cooed, her voice deceptively sweet. “I would love to trust you, Laslow, you’ve more than proven yourself in the war, but my brothers _are missing_ , and my older brother’s retainer has one of his _prized possessions and is unwilling to explain himself_. I’m sure you can understand why this looks suspicious, right dear?”

“I-I-”

“Camilla!” Xander barked as he ran onto the scene. “Release him, now!”

It took him less than a moment to take stock of what was happening: Laslow was being held by two guards, each one gripping his arms to keep him from moving, and Camilla was standing in front of him, her hand gripping his chin so that he was forced to look up at her, looking _extremely_ unhappy.

Camilla dropped Laslow’s chin when he ran onto the scene in surprise and delight. “Xander?!”

Xander took a moment to check Laslow over: the younger man looked shaken, but he didn’t see any cuts or bruises; he had apparently come just in time. “Camilla,” he said, his voice a little less sharp now, but still firm, “Laslow wasn’t responsible for my disappearance. You,” he said, addressing the guards. “This is an order from your King. Release him.”

Camilla glanced uncertainly at the retainer as the two guards released Laslow and took a few steps back. Laslow nearly collapsed to the floor, but Xander ran over and grabbed him by the arms to pull him up. “Are you hurt?” he demanded, checking him over. When Laslow said nothing, Xander gave him a light shake. “ _Laslow_.”

Trembling, Laslow shook his head, his hands gripping Xander’s clothing. “…N-No, milord.”

He wrapped an arm around Laslow’s waist and held him close as he turned towards his sister, calmer now that he knew that the other hadn’t been hurt. “My apologies for my sudden disappearance, Camilla, but I promise: Laslow wasn’t responsible for it.”

No; Laslow was the _outcome_.

“Brother… he had your signet ring,” Camilla said, her voice uncertain. “You and Leo were _missing_ , and he refused to explain where he’d gotten it from. What was I supposed to think?”

She had a point. Still, Xander showed her his hand, where his own ring was. “Yes, I’m aware of that. It’s because I gave it to him.”

 _Now_ Camilla seemed utterly baffled as Laslow stiffened against him. “How…” She frowned, and shook her head. “What about Leo and Niles?”

“Leo and Niles are back, too,” Xander assured her. “How long were we gone?”

“About six months,” she told him. Gods, that was _not_ the literal years that he had spent in Ylisse. “I’ve been ruling Nohr in your absence because no one was sure when you’d be back. A few people accused me of killing the two of you despite there being no evidence.” She scowled. “And still others have already started calling me the Queen of Nohr.”

He grimaced; he would definitely have to fix those rumors of his death before they went too far. “Why don’t you go ahead and greet Leo, Camilla?” he asked. “Talk to him and Niles about where we’ve been. I’ll be up in a few minutes after I check up on a few things.”

Camilla glanced between Xander and the way he was protectively holding Laslow, and while she didn’t seem too willing to leave the two of them, she nodded. “Alright, but you had better come up soon.”

“I will,” he promised, watching her as she left. Once she was gone and the two of them were alone, he looked down at the young man in his arms, who was biting his lip and not meeting his eyes.

“Milord…”

“You are in _deep_ trouble,” he said sternly. “Once this day is over, I’m putting you under house arrest.”

Laslow sputtered. “What?! What did I do this time?! I haven’t gone to town in m--”

“I warned you once that if you ever tried to run from me, I would hunt you down and punish you.” Xander narrowed his eyes, and squeezed Laslow against him. “You _left_ Ylisse and told _no one_ where you were going. If Cynthia hadn’t overheard your conversation with Anankos, then how would I have _ever_ guessed that _this_ is where I needed to chase you to?!”

“…” Laslow dropped his head, unable to meet Xander’s eyes, and Xander softened when he saw the tears that were brimming in them.

“Gods, Inigo…” Xander pinched the bridge of his nose, before taking his son’s hands in his own. “You cannot imagine the terror I felt when I heard that Anankos had lured you away. I thought that he had returned and had taken you as revenge. It was only after I thought about it that I realized that was how you ended up here.”

“I’m sorry,” Laslow whispered. “It was a spur of the moment decision.”

“I understand why you said nothing when you were here, though,” Xander told him. “You couldn’t mention Anankos due to the curse. You couldn’t mention the timetravel, not while Father and Iago were still around.”

“There’s a story behind the whole Anankos thing,” Laslow muttered. “And even if they hadn’t been around, you’d probably have thought I was crazy.”

Reluctantly, Xander admitted that Laslow as right about that. “I thought there might be, given that _he_ took you away and then you helped take him down, but you ended up in Nohr while he was still alive.” He touched Laslow’s grey hair. His son had had rose-gold hair back in Ylisse, a perfect blend of his blond and Olivia’s pastel pink. “…Your hair?”

“That’s part of it,” Laslow sighed. “We altered our appearances to hide who we were, plus I thought that the pink was not only a little too outstanding, but appeared too Hoshidan. I also started using my middle name because we couldn’t use our first ones. …And when we arrived in Nohr, I started looking for evidence for your family – _my_ family, Owain’s family, Severa’s family. Yours, Lor- Uncle Leo’s, and Niles’s families. Imagine my shock when I learned my father was not only royalty, but the Crown Prince.”

Xander winced. “I never did tell you in your time, did I?”

“No,” Laslow shook his head. “So it really was a surprise to me. Even more so because La- Aunt Camilla terrified me from the start. Still, I had always felt safe with you, so I joined the tournament and won a place by your side. Even if you didn’t know who I was yet, I hoped that you would still like me.” He smiled weakly. “And then some time, I realized… _I_ was the best friend that you named me after.”

Xander cleared his throat, and though he had mastered the art of not looking embarrassed, he could still feel his ears burn. “Inigo…”

“Hah…” Laslow wiped at his eyes. “I’m so glad. I’ve wanted to call you ‘Father’ again for so long.”

Pulling him closer, Xander enveloped him in a hug, resting a hand on his head, quietly basking in the fact that his child had been by his side all of these years. “I’ve been thinking,” he said, slowly. “Of staying in Ylisse, with your mother. And you, if you would come with me.”

“Wh- but mil- Father? Aren’t you _King_?” Laslow pointed out.

“I’m aware of that, but I don’t want to subject your mother to Nohr’s atmosphere right now,” Xander replied. He was perfectly willing to visit Nohr with Olivia, but he had a feeling that living here permanently, as a Queen of a country that was still, by nature, rather cutthroat compared to Ylisse and even Regna Ferox, would be far too much for the gentle, shy dancer. “I’m aware that I am the current king… but I believe that I will be abdicating. Camilla would make a far better ruler than I ever could be.”

“Queen Camilla… terrifying,” Laslow muttered. Xander chuckled.

“I’ll have to reveal who you are, of course, and Leo’s son as well,” Xander told him. “I did tell her to ask Leo for the whole story, so she may have calmed down over the whole ordeal by now. Truth be told, had I not had to chase you here, I would have put off returning. Your mother is pregnant.”

Laslow’s eyes widened. “…So I’m going to be born.”

“Unless you have an older sibling you never mentioned, then most likely, yes.” A pause. “…Did we ever have any more children?”

Laslow shook his head. “I think you considered it, but given the whole thing with Grima… I was an only child the whole time.”

A shame, but what was in the past was already in the past – for Laslow. But his future was going to be different from the horror that Laslow had come from. “Hm. In that case, what do you think about Siegbert for a brother’s name?”

“That sounds like a fine name,” Laslow agreed. “Let’s just see if Mother likes it.”

Xander chuckled again. “That’s settled then. Why don’t we go upstairs now, then, and rescue Leo from Camilla’s tender clutches?” Knowing his sister, she was probably squeezing her younger brother to her chest and suffocating him while Niles cackled in the background.

A nervous giggle came from Laslow. “Of course. Oh, by the way, Father…?”

“Yes?” Xander asked as the two of them started walking out of the dungeons towards the castle entrance.

“Am I still under house arrest?”

“Yes.”

Laslow sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I headcanon that this is the AU where Queen Camilla from FEH ended up being a thing.


	2. Bonus Chapter: The Future Past Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summoned by Naga to a Future Past, Xander speaks with Inigo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wrote this _before_ I wrote the main fic. I've debated for awhile whether to post it at all, but since it technically takes place in the same world (I mean, it IS Future Past), I went ahead and tagged it as a bonus chapter here.

He could see his that own son and Olivia were fighting some of the Risen behind him, and they looked like they would be fine together – Olivia had gotten much better with her swordplay, and having trained Inigo with Siegfried, his son was no slouch.

Xander instead beelined for the young man across the broken bridge (had this version actually learned to use Siegfried?), slicing through a Risen that was about to ambush him and Owain. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Leo, Lissa, and Niles going for Owain, Maribelle and Ricken going for Brady, and Virion and Panne going for Yarne; he knew that his alternate nephew and their friends would be okay, and so he focused on the alternate Inigo.

“Inigo!” he called once he was close enough.

The boy jumped and whirled around, his eyes wide as he noted him. “What- F-Father? Is that you…?”

A quick look over and Xander was able to tell that the boy was very similar to the Inigo that he already knew; rose blond hair, blue eyes, far too skinny, teenage gangliness. But there were shadows under his eyes, and his hair was plastered to his head from both blood and the rain that was falling. He had several injuries on him, and far more scars than Xander was comfortable with, but he was _alive._

He reached out to cup Inigo’s cheek. Maybe this wasn’t the one that came to Nohr and became 'Laslow', but this was _still_ his son. The fact that he could wield Siegfried was proof of his divine lineage.

“My apologies, Inigo. I’m afraid that I am not the father you knew. I was summoned here from another world to assist,” he told him. It was better to break the illusion now than get his hopes up.

Inigo seemed to deflate. “Oh…” His eyes flickered to the sword that Xander was holding with his free hand. “…That’s definitely Siegfried,” he mused, eyes flickering between the identical swords. “And I just saw you cut down a Risen with it. So you aren’t lying.”

“Indeed,” Xander said, and then sighed, pulling him closer. “And when I saw that stunt that you pulled on the bridge, I thought my heart was going to stop.” Inigo seemed to be blushing, but it was hard to tell with how dark it was. “I was sure that I was going to watch you die,” he continued softly, “and that I would be helpless to do anything, Las- Inigo.”

Damn it all, he had slipped and accidentally almost called him Laslow.

“Did… you just…?” Inigo furrowed his brow, and then relaxed. “You really _are_ my father.”

Xander stopped himself from blushing, but he could swear he felt the tips of his ears turn warm. “Oh, you believe me?”

Inigo nodded, glancing around to make sure that no Risen were sneaking up on them before turning back to his father. “Yeah… it’s funny, you know?” Xander tilted his head. “When I was little, you would tell me stories of the man you gave me my middle name from, Laslow. You would tell me how strong, brave, and kind he was – as well as how much of a flirt he was while giving me a scolding look.”

Xander couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at both that and at Inigo’s sheepish expression before the boy continued.

“You would tell me how that, over everyone else that you knew, he was your best friend, the man that you trusted with your life.” Inigo chewed on his lip for a moment, and then gazed up into his eyes, firm, determined, looking much like Xander’s retainer. “But… there’s more to those stories, isn’t there?”

His alternate had raised a very intelligent boy. “Perhaps there is,” Xander smirked.

Inigo looked thoughtful. “Hmm… If Laslow were here, Father, what would he have done?”

It took Xander a moment before he was able to find the proper words. “I believe that he would have done the exact same thing that you would have, Inigo: sacrificed himself so that the people that he loved would have lived to fight another day, no matter how much they would have protested otherwise. And I would have felt my heart stop had he done the same.”

There was silence, only broken by the sound of fighting around them. Still, the others were keeping the Risen sufficiently distracted, at least. Inigo finally spoke up again.

“…I see. I think I understand now.”

Xander’s eyebrows went up. “Do you, now?”

Inigo smiled at him. “I’m not entirely sure how this works, but stranger things have happened in my life, you know? But I understand now why you would always tell me stories of your friend.”

“In that case,” Xander said, moving his hand to his shoulder and giving him a squeeze, “you have heard what I will be telling you next, and I will say it again. Please stay vigilant. I don’t want to experience something as horrible as your death.”

“Father…” Inigo looked like he wanted to cry. “I will do my best. For you.”

“Thank you, Inigo,” Xander said, pulling the young man into his arms and holding him. “You are not merely my son… you are my cherished friend. I wish you only the best in whatever you choose to do with your life. And come what may, once I leave this world, I will never forget you.”

“Nor I you,” Inigo said with that familiar smile, basking in the hug for a moment before he pulled back.

Xander smiled back at him. “Good. Well then, let’s ensure your return to Ylisse!”


End file.
